Ted,
Our pistols are siblings! My early m1907 is #857, so near yours.
I've found no reliable source for parts. Numrich (
http://www.gunpartscorp.com) has some, but their classification system for Savage automatics is all screwed up so can be a crap shoot if you need a specific version of a part. Other parts dealers advertise some parts, but there is the same problem with being able to tell if the part they have is the version you need. You need to become knowledgable about exactly what parts are appropriate, since you cannot rely on the seller knowing or being correct. For example, Numrich lists 5 versions of Savage automatics: the models 1904, 1907, 1908, 1910, and 1917; other sources may list additional models (1905, 1909, 1912, etc). However, according to Savage it only made three versions: the models 1907, 1915, and 1917. Numrich parts diagrams are either of the m1917 or the early (pre-1912) m1907, so are incorrect for most versions of the m1907 and don't even address the m1915 (which Numrich includes as a variation of the model 1910).
I find regularly checking GunBroker and Auction Arms auctions for parts is useful, but, again, you can't rely on the seller to correctly list them (as in the case of the "model 1910" firing pin retainer). You can also look for "parts guns" -- unfortunately, I've ended up restoring every parts gun I've bought, so for me they just lead to more parts searches, but you may be more disciplined.
The good news is that Savage pistols have relatively few parts, those parts don't often break, and, depending on the model and version of the pistol, most parts are easily interchangable with other models and versions. The bad news is that parts interchangability for pistols made 1908-1911 is much more limited; there were a lot of design changes in 1912.
If you don't have Bailey Brower's 2008 book
Savage Pistols you should look for a copy. It is the only in-print book on Savage pistols and has a lot of information and wonderful color photos. While the list price is $40 or $50, I've seen new copies with heavy discounts in the last 6 months or so. Amazon may also have used copies. Even better books for detailed technical information are James Carr's 1967 book
Savage Automatic Pistols and Daniel K Stern's 1967
10 Shots Quick: The Fascinating Story of the Savage Pocket Automatics. Unfortunately, both of these are long out of print and used copies are very expensive. I have run across electronic copies of both.
Dave and Jim Koch, members of this forum, are Savage pistol experts and sometimes have parts for sale. Dave Koch used to have a Savage pistol website with a wealth of good information (it was my first source for reliable Savage information, and led to buying my first Savage pistol, which led to another, and another ...), but it has unfortunately shut down. He has the earliest known Savage m1907, s/n 2 (a museum in Australia claims to have s/n 1, but the pistol seems to be a renumbered later version m1907, which the museum disputes).
You may know this, but your m1907 is from 1908, the first year of production. Using the standard classification system developed by Carr, it is called a
model 1907-08, and it is the first of some 14 .32 m1907 variations, made 1908-1920. Fewer than 3,000 of the m1907-08 were made.
Just a warning -- these are addictive pistols. Once you have one, you need another version of the m1907 (how about the .32 m1907-13-3 "miltary" version, which the French Army used in WWI?), and, of course, one of each model, and both .32 and .380 versions, and there is always the ultimate, one of the several hundred prototypes of the .45 Savage, one of only two finalists in the Army 1911 trials for a new automatic pistol, losing to what became the Colt 1911. (Interested? -- one is on GunBroker right now, currently listed at just under $17,000, from an opening bid of $1!)
Bill
HA! Got it on first try!! Thanks!!! How did you know about this. Amazing. I'm still interested in finding a reliable source for future parts needs.
BTW - my S/N is in mid 800's. I've had it only a couple of months. Anything else you know in terms of advice or other words of wisdom on this little guy are always appreciated.